Sounds like an excellent plan Erina! Both exercise as well as breathing can help so much.
You need to relax!
Relaxation comes in many forms, and varies from individual to individual, but some of them are exercising, hobbies, getting enough sleep, eating right, etc.
For me right now, these include: playing golf, reading and getting enough sleep. (Definitely, get enough sleep!) And I'm working on adding some new ones!
From experience I have learned ways to deal witrh stress. I often eliminate things that can be eliminated. This section gave me great healthy mechanisms that I can use to deal with stressors that cannot be eliminated.
I will try to walk or play my flute more. Both are quite relaxing. Breathing and streching will help also.
Now would be a good time to go back to practicing TaiChi. I had forgotten about doing that until I went through this module. The breathing, stretching and balance would probably help my stress a bunch.
I try to excercise regularly including some form of cardio excercise three times a week. Another coping mechanism that I use is listening to comedy tapes on my commute. I have a one hour commute during non rush hour traffic and it is quite therapeutic to listen to some of these tapes before a stressful episode at school. Another coping mechanism that I have learned during my athletic career is that by giving one's full measure to an endeavor should mentally reduce the stress of pressure. By realizing, for instance during a banquet of 500, that everything will not come out as planned during meetings; but by giving 100% effort during the planning and executing stages it will come out successful, gives confidence which is a great stress buster. I think stress with time management can sometimes be reduced by setting your wrist watch exactly 5 minutes fast. You still will know the exact time but it seems to psychologically get me to my meetings on time.d
Excellent to hear this module reminded you of something positive you had once wanted to do. TaiChi is a wonderful way to cope with stress. Go ahead and try to jump back in.
Excellent plan Kori! Go ahead and just try one of these things out, even for just a few minutes. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started.
Excellent to hear Tierra. I'm glad to know that you have already developed some ways of dealing with stress but also that you learned about healthy coping mechanisms. There are so many great ways to cope. Go ahead and give some a try to see which ones work best for you!
Excellent list George and so glad to hear you are adding new activities too. I agree that what works best varies between individuals. You have to figure out what works best for you.
I will talk to someone to vent. I need time to get the thoughts of stress off of my mind and talking to someone else about those stressors could decrease the stress especially if the person has another solution on how to deal with it.
I talk with my husband about anything that is stressing me out and this really helps. He doesn't even have to reply I just need to get it all out and as I'm talking I will start working out how to stop the stress.
If I'm at work and I will take a break and just breathe.
My ultimate stress relief is my martial arts class. I can have a bad day and go in there and kick/punch it all out.
Venting is something that I need to do more. I hold things in too long and it adds to my stress. If i let it go a little at a time it will help to reduce my stress levels.
Living in South Florida, the fact that we have weather patterns like hurricanes, especially when they area headed straight towards us, is a stress factor for all of us. It is out of our reach as this is an external and uncontrollable factor. We can only prepare and ensure that all of our survival items are in place in order to cope. Any other suggestions?
I have many stessors in my personal life as well as with my students. I found some very good suggestions in this lesson to help me deal with them, such as setting boundaries, like putting class rules in writing so that students can know right from the start of the quarter what their responsibilities are, and what the consequences of not meeting them will be.
I also think that the exercise/stretching and getting enough sleep will help a great deal.
Sounds like you have a handle on the approach that will work for you Travis. Go ahead and find someone you trust and give venting a try. It's an amazing feeling when we can talk things out. Really helps us cope with stress.
I personally don't have much stress related problems. I don't have the " don't worry be happy" mentality, but rather I look at things that have the potential to be stressful to some, and just a minor inconvience to others. If you dwell on things that annoy you, you tend to focus on them and in turn, create further problems/concerns that you now have to address. I just don't things "get" to me. Simple but it works for me.
I have 3 jobs so naturally I do get stressed. One job will be ending soon, as it is only seasonal. That will help. I like to listen to music, go for walks. I know I don't get a lot of time to relax, but I am trying to change that. And it's hard. At my full time job, when I start feeling stressed, I will try to go for a short walk, mainly to get away from the computer and try to refocus.
That's a wonderful approach David and I appreciate you sharing. For most instructors, it's easier said than done. I like your outlook and it really takes most people a tremendous amount of practice to get there.
Sounds like a stressful schedule Kori. It's nice to hear that there's an ebb and flow to your work. I hope you can rest during your down time. Yes, taking a step away from the computer is often a step in the right direction!
